The grass isn't always greener

​So this week I had an issue with responsibility – I consider myself to be a reasonable responsible adult/mother/teacher/wife/daughter/consumer – all of these people that I am take some level of responsibility. My middle child went off to his first camp this week, I know that his teachers will be responsible and keep him safe, my mum flew back to her home city, I know that the pilots and aircrew staff would be responsible and keep her safe, my daughter is currently at dance lessons and my eldest is at tennis training, I know that they are responsible and will keep themselves safe.Why then, can’t professional adults be responsible? It seems like no-body likes to own their mistakes of faux pas, no-body likes to be wrong and everybody thinks that they know better than the next person. There is an arrogance in the air and I don’t like it. If you make a mistake, accept it and move on, if you stuff up, acknowledge it and move on, if you muck up, own it and move on. If we can’t show some level of responsibility for our own actions what are we teaching our kids?Lots of people look towards blaming others for their mistakes – lots like to blame the government for their actions or outcomes – it is not up to the government to fix your problems – it is your responsibility. It is not the fault of the shop assistant that groceries went up this week, it is not the teacher’s fault if a child comes to school filthy and hungry, it is not the fault of the doctor if you are sick, it is not the fault of the local take-away restaurant if you are fat, obese or morbidly obese.If you decided to bare and raise children they are your responsibility – you must feed them, shelter them, protect them and love them. Children need to be taught stuff, for example, they simply don’t know what the alphabet is if they haven’t had it taught to them. Children also need to be taught responsibility and be given varying levels of responsibility throughout their childhood journey. If you as a parent cannot show some level of responsibility and are busy blaming everyone else for your mistakes, your children will never learn to take any responsibility for their own actions. A teacher’s not so favourite response to the question of “Where’s your…….(insert hat, lunch, reader, etc) is “Mum forgot to pack it”. Hmmmm I wonder if you can predict how the teacher responds to this statement? Let me give you the answer, “It’s not mum’s (hat, lunch, reader, etc)". All school aged children should have the skills and strategies to ensure that in their bag they have everything they need to be successful at school every day. This is just one very small way we can begin to develop responsibility in our children.